Michael Batson

Gyms can play an important part in recreation for Cambodians as outdoor facilities are few and far between and there is a shortage of parks and sports grounds generally. There’s the Olympic Stadium built in the 1960s which never hosted any Olympic event, Phnom Penh’s Old Stadium in the city’s north and the brand new Morodok Techo National Stadium built for the 2023 Southeast Asian Games. Aside from those arenas outdoor recreation is taken on boulevards and riverfronts or anywhere people can find space which can be the street. Kids play football barefoot in the rain on paved streets while dodging moving vehicles. There’s semi-organised jazzercize or impromptu foot badminton played on whatever areas are available and happen each and every evening everywhere. Gyms are an indoor social and exercise focal point. Some locals use these for recreation, exercise, their appearance, to socialise, or get seriously big on lithe frames with natural levels of low body fat.

These are the things I notice about gyms I’ve used in Cambodia that can be deemed characteristic. Most are non-air-conditioned. Some are open air meaning the walls don’t meet the roof. Some gyms have glass or Perspex on some sides looking straight outside sometimes decorated with hanging plants and a heavy-duty roof to combat heat and monsoonal downpours. Most gyms come with adequate lockers but have unusually very small changing rooms with sometimes just a solitary footstool squeezed in between the hand basin and a urinal. There are usually few places to sit and get changed. Despite there being plenty of lockers some people insist on dragging their bags around the gym with them, or leave bags, clothing, and drinks on the limited seating provided, or on workout benches. If something breaks it gets fixed quickly, usually right away or the next day and usually by the staff themselves. though some of the workplace activity may not meet health and safety standards found in other countries.

Waiting to use equipment is another difference in Cambodia. If someone wants to use equipment that you’re using they will often sit in close proximity and stare but usually don’t say anything. Rather than say, go off and use something else and come back, you wind up with someone looking at you which is quite uncomfortable I find. Posing and looking at yourself in the abundant mirrors is a big thing. This includes shorts off or the exposure of more skin than I’d like to see. It’s borderline narcissistic where some patrons have already well and truly having crossed that particular line. Cambodians rarely put weights away I’ve noticed (plates not dumbbells, though sometimes those too). Listening to your phone on speaker is popular in gyms as it is sadly nearly everywhere else hereabouts. Security personnel who are members bring their walkie-talkies with them so these are squawking away as well as their phones (often more than one of both). Tripods are in use often for filming.

Personal trainers are very “hands-on” with their clients the whole sexual harassment regime not having landed here yet. Cambodians do use drink bottles like at home but 2-litre water bottles bought on site are more popular. Many bring in drinks from outside. Iced drinks are popular and these come in plastic containers with plastic straws carried in plastic bags, all single use. Some people don’t wear gym footwear. Flip-flops especially, or bare feet are often the seen. Towels, very helpful, are usually provided as everybody sweats given the temperature must be at least 30-degrees Celsius indoors, if not more.

Most Cambodians come to the gym by motorbike (scooter). Some few drive, and others come by tuk-tuk, which can now be ordered here like an Uber. Very few would walk as Cambodians rarely walk anywhere just to get from A to B unless there’s absolutely no other choice. It’s a tropical climate and in the wet season you get tropical style downpours. The sound of the rain is deafening, and drowns out conversation so you couldn’t make yourself heard to the person next to you even if you were shouting. It’s so loud that even the bass-heavy music played at the many gyms is reduced to a faint beat somewhere in the background barely discernible over the tropical deluge pounding the tin roof.

Gyms come with English-sounding names like Elite Fitness, or French-sounding ones like Club Physique, or have Khmer names but written in Roman lettering like Hanuman (from the Khmer version of the Sanskrit Ramayana). Some come with public announcements like at Elite near the central market in Phnom Penh, advising use of lockers and sounding like the AI lady from Google maps or the one who announces the floors in an elevator. There’s messaging too, also written in English, extolling patrons to ‘train hard, stay humble’. There’s music invariably played loud invariably off short playlists. On Sundays, staff at the STK branch of Elite play their own choice which is Khmer pop some of which is heavily based on traditional folk music but with electronic twist; the hand-played Khmer version of the gamelan which winds up sounding very dub-like and could almost be from Jamaica. But during the week music off the short playlist is often sadly dominated by rap emanating from some area of urban decay Stateside, though why they bother I’ve no idea.

So, what about gym etiquette in detail once you’re actually in a gym? Well, if Dante’s ninth circle of Hell is reserved for treachery, a tenth circle it might be for other people at the gym or these days on planes, in airports, cafes or anywhere they are allowed unfettered use of mobile technology. A recent article in the UK’s Guardian newspaper looked at what a number of “top” gym trainers in the UK viewed as acceptable gym etiquette these days.

However, you don’t need to be a trainer to realise what “gym etiquette” is has already undergone massive change everywhere and increasingly so since the advent of mobile technology, which for many has ruined much about human interaction the way we knew it. Sadly, social media and the internet is merely serving to see the decline of critical thinking and the advance of collective stupidity, the mundane, and the self-obsessed. So, it’s interesting to see what’s viewed as being acceptable or not in some other countries, and what’s it’s like in a gym in Cambodia.

First up, filming yourself. I find this particularly self-indulgent and intrusive as you can wind up in the background of someone’s shot without wanting to or being asked first or even if you approve. This is definitely a “thing” in Cambodia as it probably is elsewhere. At first, I thought it was just personal trainers filming clients to study their form but invariably I’ve noticed it’s individuals filming themselves just for personal viewing or to post on social media, which is big here. Cambodia is an example of a country that has skipped an entire generation of communication technology as landlines were obliterated by four decades of warfare. Even now email and voicemail have gone for most as it’s WhatsApp and Telegram. As the country’s population is relatively young (the median age is 27 and only six percent of the population are over 63 years of age) they’ve embraced mobile technology with great gusto. People set up tripods which is another piece of unwanted furniture and also means that they spend way longer on equipment than they otherwise would if they were just exercising. Sitting there just looking at your phone or like the guy the other day eating while on your phone, and not even dressed in for the gym.

Expats here, whether short-term visitors (tourists) or long-term residents working or not, can be self-absorbed too,. There was the Spanish-speaking woman next to me one day at Elite Fitness in the Boeung Keng Kang ‘Muoy’ (or ‘1’) branch talking to her boyfriend. There he was in full view on her phone on her tripod in bed somewhere on the planet, while she sat there doing nothing but engaging in chit-chat. When I asked if she was going to be long with that machine she snatched up her devices and without a word stormed off to sit on another machine to carry on her talk. No exercise seemingly involved. People don’t seem to care if anyone else is in shot. They also film themselves in groups often taking turns to shoot or pose again without much in the way of actual physical exertion taking place. For me, if someone close-by is likely to be filmed, then it’s polite to ask them before pressing record but don’t get upset if they say they don’t want to be filmed and don’t want to be stepping over your filming gear either. But these practices are now so widespread as to become “norms” without seemingly any thought as to what went before.

Second, offering unsolicited advice on ‘form’?

Cambodia is a patriarchal society. Women tend to be reserved and shy at least in public. I’ve seen older men offering their views on form to younger women in the gym which they tend to accept without a word. Because I don’t’ speak the language I’m unsure what is transpiring but you can tell certain things from body language and positioning. I don’t know if the people I saw know each other or not. But generally, it is the view of trainers and others elsewhere that unless someone is in immediate, life-threatening danger – not just at risk of a potential injury in the future – then don’t interfere. Many people already feel vulnerable in gyms and somebody, however, well intentioned pointing out through unsolicited advice they’re doing something wrong can be very off-putting, especially for women. It’s different though for clients of personal trainers. You’d expect that they, for the money they’re being paid, to teach proper form, and to prevent injuries.

Third, asking someone for a “spot”.
“Spotting” is when someone else provides you support when doing a heavy lift. To me this is acceptable gym practice and has been ever since I’ve gone to a gym. Though I’ve rarely seen anyone not in a training pair doing this. You can ask a stranger at the gym to do this for you but you need to be clear what you want and then the language thing comes into play though many Cambodians speak English and some to good levels. Spotting is also accepted practice in doing “forced reps” where you’ve completely maxed out and cannot lift anymore yourself but one way of developing is to have someone else take part of the strain or you. You then go away and recover and next time you’re back at the gym then your muscles have developed and you can lift more yourself.

Fourth, loudspeakers on phones.
This is truly awful in Cambodia and it’s everywhere: cafes, restaurants, on buses across country, and in gyms. Of respondents to a recent survey in the UK, 93% said they didn't think it was acceptable to play music out loud (on public transport) but I’d add, or anywhere else. Like rearview mirrors on vehicles Cambodians don’t seem to know what headphones are and what these are for. I don’t know why people think that anyone else is interested in what they’re listening to? I can’t understand why they insist on playing music or talking on loudspeaker on their phones when there’s already a cacophony of background noise anyway which includes others doing the same! Public phone calls also tend to be loud phone calls.

More generally, there’s also the danger with their use in gyms that with chatting away on the phone people become unaware of their surroundings, and cause an accident. It’s also annoying as people sit about on equipment for this purpose rather than for exercise. If phones were banned people would probably finish up faster, move on, and free up the equipment for the next person, and be more sociable. Mobile technology aside, Cambodians are generally very polite, and respectful to each other, visitors, and especially to older members of society. They’re also generally very softly spoken and I find helpful. But mobile technology, like a lot of modernity the country is embracing is challenging traditional societal settings. Mobile phones are an example of an invention created without any thoughts as to the consequences, and this selfish noise pollution is exactly that, and unwelcome consequence.

Fifth, can I take weights off a squat rack that’s in use?
Racks and benches basically function as storage units for free weights, and by using one you don’t automatically own all the weights on it, at least according to some. I’d differ in that if you’re using a machine that has spare plates stored on it, you get first dips on these and it’s polite to ask first before taking these, as a common courtesy. If you’re asking though, don’t do this mid-exercise as this may pose a risk to the person performing that exercise, so wait until they’re finished or use non-verbal language. That can work just as well. Cambodians just assume they’re therefore everyone (they are) and take them regardless. But the real problem in Cambodia is leaving weights on the machine rather than, what I’m used to, removing these for the next person. If you’re strong enough to load the thing you’re strong enough to unload it. It’s like cleaning up after yourself. But here it’s either a lack of awareness, laziness, or not the accepted practice. Leaving plates on the floor around machines is another bug-bear of mine in the kingdom. You sometimes see staff picking these up but really, they shouldn’t have to.

Sixth, what counts as hogging equipment?

There are legitimate reasons people sometimes need to spend time on a machine, for example, if you have an injury and it takes me a while to get warmed or you like doing super sets with lots of reps and rest periods are longer. The main aggravation comes when people take long rest periods, so are monopolising a piece of equipment without even being active on it. If someone is eager to get on a machine, don’t sit on it looking at your phone or take six minutes of rest between sets. This happens a lot in Cambodia. People just sit there on their phone for ages. One guy also sat there reading a book. Fine, I’m all for book reading, but at the gym?

The other issue is that you sometimes find people alternating between two sets of equipment. Fine if it’s quiet on a Sunday morning but not a peak-times. The other issue in Cambodia is the gyms I use provide towels but these get left everywhere often on a machine or a bench and you’re not sure if the person has finished or not. Not only is this lazy, it’s unhygienic.

Seventh, is training shirtless and shoeless acceptable?

In thirty-plus degree heat everyone is going to sweat, even the locals and certainly the visitors not so used to the climate. Cambodia is a traditional society and nakedness in public is frowned upon. However, this isn’t, or is no longer the case in gyms where it’s common for (men) to show off their torso or do certain exercises topless (pump checks). This can extend to filming also while almost oblivious to their surroundings, or probably because of it. Cambodian women wear the same active/gym wear found elsewhere; some of it revealing showing some skin, but usually just the arms, legs or stomach being visible. Many Cambodian women at the gym are well presented: hair, jewellery, make-up, and clothing. Those who wear shorts in the gym will cover up when leaving so as not to be seen wearing revealing clothing in public outside the gym environment, especially riding their motorbikes.

Hygiene is an issue with semi-nakedness especially in a tropical country with high temperatures. There’s also the odour though you get that in gyms anywhere. Sweating all over benches and other equipment and on the floor. I’d say my top is two to three times the weight wet with sweat after the gym that it was dry before. I only wear my shoes in the gym but the soles are black on the contact edges in no time despite the best efforts of staff who run an almost continuous routine mopping the floors. Wearing flip-flops or slip-ons is not uncommon but the worst is barefoot and the most obvious offenders are foreigners one or two who make a habit of it. It’s unhygienic and dangerous as you’re way more prone to slipping. It’s rare to see Cambodians shoeless outside the home. Some exercises however, like deadlifts, are sometimes done better in socks as shoeless doesn’t necessarily have to mean barefoot.

Eighth, how much noise is OK?
Making a noise can help people lift heavier weights, by supporting intra-abdominal pressure, so say the trainers, but that’s for very heavy lifts. But for some you wonder if they’re grunting because it genuinely helps, or to draw attention from others? If it’s the latter, it’s then the professionals reckon likely to have the opposite impact of what they’re aiming for. Some fitness trainers reckon that you should be able to make some noise, especially during exercises requiring valsalva manoeuvre (a forced exhalation which helps power heavy lifts), but how much can be contextual – a CrossFit gym being very different from a boutique hotel gym, where people won’t appreciate screaming. I don’t really appreciate it at all and often the offender hereabouts is a foreigner.

Dropping weights at the end of the set is another issue though it depends on the type of gym and the equipment. It’s probably okay at gyms with specialist floors and rubber plates that are designed to be dropped – because if you’re doing a one-rep max deadlift then you don’t want to have to think about putting the weight back down. But in a commercial gym like in Cambodia, dropping weights risks damaging the barbell, or the floor, as well as being a distracting noise to those around you and if it’s the stacked weights on a machine the noise is ear-splitting and most just let these drop with force. If you raise it slowly, why can’t you lower it the same way?

Ninth, do I need to wipe down equipment?
You should always do this and as mentioned the climate means it’s a necessity. The staff at Elite wipe equipment continuously but that’s for dust (I think). Users should always do this but despite the towels provided I don’t’ see this a lot. I bring my own towel from home which is twice as thick as the ones the gym provides so I make a point of using it to cover a machine and wipe it if needed, which is often.

But with all that going to a gym or anywhere in Cambodia is usually rewarding. The smile of the people, their laughter, the goodwill, their welcoming of you into their lives and this part of their recreation. “Cambodians, even the bad ones are polite” someone who’s a visitor here said to me recently. Their willingness to engage. It’s brilliant. You usually get a smile form most people here. I get one every time I pass the coffee stall outside the gym I go to most often, and I’ve never even bought a thing there, yet.